


Cookie Cutter!

by starbacchu



Series: Friendship Cookies [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Bullying, Child Abuse, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Domestic Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Italian Tony Stark, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Panic Attacks, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Protective Steve Rogers, Russian Bucky Barnes, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-07 07:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21454198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbacchu/pseuds/starbacchu
Summary: the high school au no one asked forTony Stark, a name you'd automatically associate with an arrogant, rich brat, who in reality was a shy, insecure kid, with basically no friends, who had more issues than he'd like to let on.You'd have to see past the rumors before you got to know him for who he really was, a kind, generous softie who just needed some more love.Luckily, Steve and his friends were going to provide that love, one way or another.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Series: Friendship Cookies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605934
Comments: 25
Kudos: 386





	1. Cute little asshole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my first actual fanfiction.
> 
> I can't write or express myself very well, so bear with me. It's just going to be plain ol' Stony angst because we stan

Steve thought Tony was cute. Well, as cute as an entitled, snobby, arrogant rich kid could be.

With his big, owlish golden-brown eyes that seemed to analyze everything in their vicinity, and a round, childish looking face that made him look SO innocent (spoilers: he isn’t).

That wasn’t really all of it.

Tony had the cutest pastel pink braces that accentuated his beautiful smile, smelled like butterscotch candy and coffee (not that Steve went out of his way to smell Tony, he just happened to be breathing in at that exact moment), had the most floofiest, soft-looking brown curls that Steve had ever seen, always wore baggy, oversized sweaters and hoodies that made him look smaller than he already was, but yeah, Tony was cute, end of story.

All that cuteness bundled into one person made Steve gain a (grudging) adoration of the curly-haired genius.

But alas, that was not meant to last, as Tony was probably the biggest asshole in the state of New York.

Steve heard how he flexed his wealth on anything that respired, slept with a number of people that equated the population of Croatia, had an ego the size of Jupiter, was rude to anyone and everyone and liked to pick on others, so that was a no go area.

Unfortunately for Steve, his yin period had expired, meaning that his previously dormant bad luck had a field day as he shared not one, not two, but FOUR out of eight classes with Tony Stark, fun.

He sometimes wished that he could change this reality in exchange for giving back his newfound good health and muscles (again, an exaggeration) but the Universe hated him too much anyways.

Anyways, this isn’t about Steve’s newfound antagonism with the Universe, but about how he managed to meet the best thing that ever happened to him (nope, still an exaggeration).

It was Thursday, Steve’s least favorite day of the week, because miraculously, all he and Tony’s shared classes had crammed themselves into this one hellish day.

Even better yet, they had Calculus first (which Steve may or may not have been failing woefully).

Steve arrived about 15 minutes before the bell rang and took his seat next to Bucky.

“Wow jerk, you’re here early”, Steve remarked as he rummaged through his bag for his Calculus textbook,  
Bucky rolled his eyes good-naturedly, “Yeah, well some of us haven’t done the homework and are actively waiting for someone to copy from”.

“That response was actually not what I expected, what’re you really doing with your life Buck?”, Steve answered, bemused, “ Well, I was gonna do it yesterday, but then Clint and Bruce needed help beating the Ender Dragon, so I had to perform my duties as a good friend”.

Steve started “Are your parents eve-”, he was cut off by none other than Tony (whose presence he was not looking forward to), who rushed into class, diverting all attention to himself.

The genius was a sight, his normally olive skin looked ghostly pale, he had dark bags around his tired-looking eyes, his clothes were rumpled and tattered, in essence, he looked like death warmed over.

“Woah, Bucky muttered with wide eyes, “what happened to Stark?”, Steve’s eyes followed the boy until he sat down heavily in his seat at the back of the class and promptly collapsed unto his desk.  
“He was probably up all night with a threesome or something” Steve spat bitterly. He hated people that tried to look as worn down as possible for attention, which was most likely what Tony was trying to do.

Bucky opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a muffled sob. He looked over his shoulder to stare at Tony, who’d been the one to make that sound. Tony’s body shook as he continued to cry into his desk.

Bucky’s eyes went infinitely softer, and he made his way over to the distressed genius. Ignoring Steve’s cry of protest, he slightly squatted so he was at the eye level of Tony, “Hey, Stark, are you okay?”, he asked softly.

Tony raised his head to look at Bucky, exposing his puffy, red-rimmed eyes and his blotchy face.

Bucky raised his hand to put it on Tony’s shoulder, but Tony flinched away and began to cried harder. _“Mi dispiace. Per favore, non farmi del male, ho detto che mi dispiaceva”_, he whimpered between his sobs.

Steve could only watch in awe as Bucky started to mutter softly to Tony in Russian, something Steve hadn’t seen him do in a while. That seemed to make Tony calm down a bit and his sobs died down to sparse whimpers.

“There that’s better, right?” Bucky inquired. Tony nodded slightly. “Good, now what’s the matter?”

Tony just shook his head “I don’t really want to talk about it, sorry”, he muttered softly.

Steve rolled his eyes.

“That’s okay. You don’t have to. Now maybe you can go clean up a bit, no offense, but you look like a dog chewed you and spat you out”.

Tony managed a slight chuckle and stood up. What he did next surprised Steve, as he leaned in and hugged Bucky.

“Thank you”, the genius whispered, and he walked out of the class, scrubbing at his blotchy face with his sleeves.

“Well damn, that was something”, Bucky proclaimed as he sat down again.

“Do you really buy that?”

Bucky looked incredulous, “Didn’t you see how hard he was shaking? I thought he was having a seizure! Pretty hard to fake something like _that_”

“Whatever”, Steve huffed, “I really don’t believe that whatever happened just now was legit”

Steve couldn’t really believe that the normally happy-go-lucky Tony had been reduced to a crying mess in less than a day.

It was too sudden, too suspicious.

Whatever prank he most likely was playing, Bucky fell for the bait.

_But why though?_

_To get Bucky’s attention?_

_To try to get into our friend group through pity?_

It gave him major whiplash just thinking about it.

This is why Steve disliked Tony. He was always trying to get _attention_.

Bucky started, “The best we can do is to let him calm down some more and then keep our mouths shut about the whole thing. It’s not our place to broadcast to everyone that Antonio Stark basically had a mental breakdown in class”.

“I still don’t think he was actually upset, but you do you I guess”.

Bucky just shook his head, “Whatever”, he sighed.

Steve just snorted as the bell rang and people began to pour into the classroom.

He caught sight of Bruce and Clint and gave them a small wave that was reciprocated in the form of a shy smile and a ‘sup asshole’ respectively.

He resolved to ask Bruce for details about the genius during Phys. Ed, seeing as he was kinda friends with Tony.

He then sighed to himself as the hour of hell called Calculus class just started and he was already lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
Mi dispiace. Per favore, non farmi del male, ho detto che mi dispiaceva- I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me, I said I was sorry
> 
> EDIT:I changed Chapter 1 a bit because a portion of it gave me major plot inconsistencies and I had to rewrite it, so it’s a bit more fitting to the story. I’m sorry if you had to read it once more to understand Chapter 2 a little better.


	2. Cute little asshole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has to deal with the aftermath of the incident from class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, this chapter is from Tony's point of view.
> 
> Poor kid, he suffers so much.
> 
> He needs a hug.
> 
> If you noticed, I kind of tried to show the thought spiral that led to him freaking out and having a panic attack (which I know little to no information about)
> 
> I found out that it's common to have panic attacks accompanied by nausea, similar to anxiety attacks, so Tony throwing up his guts doesn't really seem that odd.

As soon as he was out that door, Tony knew he’d fucked up. BIG TIME

He was acutely aware of the stabbing pain in his sides and arms, he knew that they were badly bruised, but that hadn’t really been a cause to cry like that right?

Maybe it was Howard’s words this morning that had set him off. His father always knew where to hit him to make him hurt (literally and figuratively)

But that was beside the point.

He let himself be vulnerable, be weak, and people had seen. People who he knew couldn’t care less if them spreading gossip about him got him in trouble.

By the time the class had started, it would have spread to all the students, the teachers, the guidance counselor, his _father_.

He couldn’t handle what his father would do to him again.

It was too much, too much.

Howard would beat him bloody.

Tony would never survive it.

He couldn’t, it was too much.

Too much pain, all the time.

He didn’t want to end up in the hospital, not again.

Stark men were made of iron, they weren't weak, they didn't cry.

But it was so painful, he couldn't handle it. He- he- he-

He was having a panic attack.

Racing out of the hallway to the nearest boys’ restroom he could find, all he could think of was the nausea and terror brewing in his stomach.

Tony stumbled through the restroom door, his body trembling viciously. He shambled over to the nearest stall, flung the door open, and locked it.

He sat on the toilet seat heavily, trying to calm himself down, his breathing coming in short, ragged gasps.

_Come on_, Tony thought to himself, _breathe in and out, in and out, think of Pepper and Rhodey and how happy they made you, think of Italy and how Mom was always singing him italian lullabies to calm him down when he was younger._

_ Think of- Think of anything!._

Then he thought of Howard.

The overwhelming fear that came with the panic-induced image of Howard brandishing a belt, ready to tear into him, almost made him unaware of the fact that he was now kneeling in front of the toilet, spewing out what seemed all the food he’d ever eaten in his lifetime, into the toilet bowl.

He vomited until nothing but watery bile came out, he was vaguely aware of the fact that he had run out of things to throw up, so he was dry-heaving into the toilet bowl, the painful contractions of his stomach making it harder to draw in a breath.

The nausea had begun to calm down after a while, but Tony stayed kneeling in front of the toilet until he was sure he could get up without plunging face-first to the floor. 

His breathing still needed a moment to settle, so he just sat there, going through his breathing exercises until the tightness of his throat has ceased.

The first thing he noticed as he picked himself off the restroom floor was the wetness of his cheeks and eyelids.  
He’d started crying again. _Great_.

Tony fumbled with the latch of the door, cursing his trembling hands for not being able to grip it properly.

Upon leaving the stall, he made a b-line to the mirror, to check if he still looked as horrible as before.

He was even worse than he’d expected, his hair looked messier and more tangled than it had ever been (and that was really saying something), his eyes looked like he’d poured lemon juice into them, red, weeping and sore. 

His complexion was far paler than it was when he had originally come into class, bordering ghostly.

So, Calculus class was not an option until he had sufficiently calmed down and started to look human again. The day just kept getting better.

It took him almost 20 minutes to compose himself before he decided to go to Calculus.

The halls were silent and barren, making him feel more terrible about his lateness.

He had to come up with a good enough excuse for Mrs. Kincaid, the Calculus teacher. 

He couldn’t just straight up walk into class and act as though nothing happened. 

And he also couldn’t receive a tardy slip, that option would elicit a beating he knew he wouldn’t look forward too. 

So, therefore, he had to think of an appropriate excuse that was believable enough to fool Mrs. Kincaid, who-

Who was now right in front of him?

He was vaguely aware that his hand was raised and balled into a fist, so he must’ve knocked unconsciously.

Mrs. Kincaid didn’t look amused in the slightest. “Mr. Stark”, she began, basically glowering, “What brings you to my class 23 minutes late?”

Tony just gulped, immediately forgetting whatever elaborate excuse he had concocted in his head.

Boy was that woman scary.

“I-I had a p-panic attack in th-the bathroom”, he stuttered bashfully, ”an-and I was t-throwing up for a w-while. So I c-couldn’t really-”

The genius was cut off by the warm hand now placed on his shoulder.

He winced slightly, because of the bruise he just now remembered was there.

Mrs. Kincaid, now looking ever so understanding, just gave him a gentle nod, and stepped aside so he could enter the class.

Tony muttered a soft ‘thank you’, and shuffled back to his seat.

As he walked past, he could hear barely suppressed whispers,

“Why is Stark allowed into class so late?”  
“Why does Stark always get special treatment?”  
“How much did that Stark kid offer her to not get a tardy slip?”  
“Stark must be really into older women to hook up with Mrs. Kincaid to avoid a tardy slip”

He just sighed and chose to pretend as if he didn’t hear what they were saying about him.

As he sat at his desk and took out his books, he could see Barnes from the corner of his eye, giving him an encouraging look that relieved some of the tension settled into him.

He was so absorbed in the positivity he was receiving, he didn’t even notice Rogers glaring at him from beside Barnes.

He just turned to look at Barnes and gave him a small smile, letting him know he was okay.

Calculus class seemed a bit more bearable after that.

As soon as the bell had rung, Tony darted out of the class.

He’d somehow developed a splitting headache during the 30 minutes of Calculus class he had just sat through.

Tony headed to the nurse because he’d already decided to skip Phys.ed, like, no way in hell would he be jumping all around the gym with a fucking migraine (okay, now he was exaggerating, it was just a bad headache) and a body littered with bruises.

_And of course I ran out of painkillers_, he thought bitterly, _you tend to go through them pretty quickly with Howard_.

He shook his head, not wanting to think of his father and have another panic attack, which was a mistake, as pain shot through his head.

Tony was almost crying at the miracle that had already brought him to the nurse’s office. He was about to open the door, when he heard someone yell his name with a volume that seemed to rival a megaphone.

He flinched and slowly turned to the source of the sound, ready to beg them to please not shout, then the was face-to-face (well, more like face-to-chest) with Steve Rogers.

Tony vaguely remembered Steve being there when he was bawling his eyes out in class, so of course it made sense that he wanted money to keep quiet about the whole thing.

But Steve didn’t look smug in the way that Tony imagined someone who was about to extort cash from him would look.

Instead, he looked kind of angry.

“Now Stark, I don’t know whatever prank you tried pulled earlier in class, but did you really have to go ahead and bother Bucky?”, he huffed.

Tony was taken aback. Suddenly, his having a breakdown in class was some kind of elaborate prank he drew up for attention.

But Steve wasn’t done. “I really don’t care what type of things you get off on, but if you hurt Bucky, I’ll hurt you”

Tony just watched disbelievingly as Steve turned and stormed off back to the gym.

He shrugged and knocked at the nurse’s door, entering when he’d heard a soft ‘Come in’ from the other side.

It hurt, really, to have every action you took subject to scrutiny by randos you don’t even know, but who thought they knew everything about you.

Whatever. His headache was still bothering him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Steve came to the stupid conclusion that Tony had cried for attention because he looked like an actual human being in Calculus class, plus, he was kind of jealous that Bucky was paying attention to him.  
What a dickhead


	3. Comfort from a comforting presence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has a heart-to-heart with a friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for disappearing for so long, I had exams (which I doubt I passed lmao)  
So yeah, a new chapter, same Tony angst

The nurse was really cool.

She let Tony chill out in her office till gym was over, after all, he needed to rest after all the shit he just went through.

He tried to forget about everything Steve had said.

He wasn’t desperate for attention or for friends, regardless of what everyone else chose to believe.

He was just going to relax and dab on the haters.

So there he was, reclining in a hammock (yeah, the nurse had a HAMMOCK, pretty cool), playing Pokémon Crystal on his phone, about to face the Kimono Girls, and that’s when he heard it,

_“Will Antonio Stark please report to the Guidance Counselors’ office? I repeat, will Antonio Stark please report to the Guidance Counselors’ office” _

At that exact moment, Tony realized that he was utterly _fucked._

He remembered that he had told the Calculus teacher about his panic attack, so obviously she felt the need to tell the Guidance Counselor that he was having issues.

_Since I had a stupid panic attack, I obviously have poor mental health and am very unstable, thus the absolute need to send me to the underpaid shrink, right Mrs. Kincaid? _(well, it’s not like she would be lying)

Tony should have used his super high thinking capacity to make up a reasonable excuse, but_ no_, he just _had_ to tell the truth.

_Just great,_ the brunette thought bitterly_, and now Phil’s gonna be breathing down my neck even more. Fan-fucking-tastic._

What was worse, his parents might be called, then Howard will have another excuse to get drunk and-

Tony refused to finish that thought because it already made him feel nauseous.

And the nurse might not be that friendly anymore if Tony threw up all over the office floor.

But she just gave him a sympathetic look and opened the door for him.

He muttered a quick ‘thank you’ and headed bemusedly to Mr. Coulson’s office.

Phil was already seated on one of the beanbags when Tony walked in.

He didn’t even see him at first, so when Phil had said ‘Good day Tony’, he may or may not have jumped four feet into the air.

“What in the fucking hell Phil?!”, he wheezed, “I have a heart condition you know!”

Tony _swears _that Coulson works for the FBI or is probably a ninja, considering how invisible he could be.

Phil just rolled his eyes, “First of all, language. Second, I called you here so we could discuss what happened this morning, so if you would take a seat, I would highly appreciate it”

Tony had to bail himself out and_ fast._

He batted his long lashes at the man and mustered his most charming smile, “Mr. Coulson, Phil, Philip-kun, Phillypie, Philly-phil, there is no problem. Nothing happened this morning that I think would elicit a session with you, so I’ll just be on my way”

With that, Tony turned towards the door, “Sorry for wasting your time”

“Sure, you’d better come back here and sit yourself down, or I’m telling Fury”, Phil huffed exasperatedly.

Tony paled. Fury would absolutely _vore_ him if he got his hands on him.

So, with a heavy sigh, he plopped down on the bean bag adjacent to Phil.

“Good”, the_ motherfucker_ Phil beamed proudly, “Now I received a report from Mrs. Kincaid that you said you were late for class because you had a panic attack in the bathroom. Care to enlighten me?”

“Not really”, Tony muttered.

“Tony”

“Fine!”

“I, um, wasn’t doing so great when I got to school, and I-I, um, sorta cried a bit in class. Then I went to the bathroom to try to clean up or something. Then I started to think of som-some stuff that _I’m not gonna talk about”, _he emphasized as Phil opened his mouth to probably ask him about the _stuff_,

“Anyways”, he continued, “I had a teeny-weeny panic attack and went back to class, fin.”

Tony hadn’t realized that he wasn’t looking at Phil until a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.

He flinched slightly at the contact, then shuffled awkwardly and looked up, hoping Phil hadn’t noticed.

If Phil had noticed it, he didn’t say anything, instead, he looked at Tony with a soft expression, “Hey, it’s okay, Howard is a bastard, that we all agree on, but don't worry, I'm always here to talk and listen to whatever you're going through. I want to report him, believe me, but I know that'll only make things worse."

Tony found himself tearing up slightly.

He hadn’t really ever talked to Phil in-depth about his problems, except that his father wasn't very nice to him and he had panic attacks sometimes.

Phil always wanted to investigate Tony's relationship with his father, but Tony hadn't let him. Whatever he managed to uncover would've only resulted in Phil losing his job, reputation and/or life, and Tony getting even _worse_ beatings.

But Phil gave him an avenue to feel a little better about his life a lot of the time, it was heartwarming.

Phil continued, “Just remember that you can tell me anything. I know your father’s hard to live with and you have a lot of darkness going through your head. I’ll always be here to listen to your problems, cus you’re my friend, and friends look out for each other, don’t you forget”

If Tony was tearing up before, he was pretty sure he was crying now.

Phil smirked slightly."But don't forget, I'm financially obligated to do this"

That made Tony laugh a bit, despite himself.

“I know what public schools pay dude, but thanks Agent”, he sniffed, as he wiped the tears off his face.

“Anytime, Stark”

With that, Tony stood up and gave Phil what would have been a bone-crushing hug, but Tony was a skinny twink who couldn’t crush a peanut if he tried.

Phil ruffled his hair and smiled "Now scram and go eat lunch, you need the energy right now"

Tony grimaced, lunch in the cafeteria was not something he looked forward too, with all the loud people and their annoying friend groups, but he’ll make an attempt to stomach something.

The genius just flipped Coulson the bird and dashed out of the office before Phil had the opportunity to react.

Tony smiled to himself.

He felt lighter in a sense, knowing that he had one more person that actually cared about him, that he could talk to.

He was lucky to have a Guidance Counselor as a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phil had to be in this story, I stan him too much not to add him  
Phil and Tony's relationship is PURELY PLATONIC and BROTHERLY, so I feel the age-gap doesn't matter, but please don't sue me.  
Anyways, the chapter after this will be a Steve chapter, cus I kinda forgot that he existed in the story ff


	4. Lunch isn't ever a great time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets invited to eat lunch with the Avengers and a jealous Steve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE CHAPTER UPDATE!  
I know. I ended up working on this till 3 am because I'm planning out the other chapters a bit more carefully  
So expect an actual plot and not just the word vomit of a 14-year-old

Phys. Ed was finally over, after what felt like a decade.

Steve hadn’t felt so fatigued in a while, but after running around the gym like a headless chicken for 80 minutes, you’d think a guy would be a little tired.

At least it was lunchtime.

Steve and Bucky made their way towards the Avengers’ table in the Cafeteria.

Bucky looked a bit uncomfortable, like he was holding something in.

“Um, Buck, what’s wrong?” Steve inquired, not used to seeing his friend like this.

“It’s Stark”, Bucky confessed, “I heard the announcement for him to go to the Guidance Counselor, and I’m a bit worried, ya know?”

Steve rolled his eyes (he was really doing that a lot today)

“Why are you so obsessed with Stark all of a sudden? The other day, you didn’t give a shit about him”

“Well!- it’s just…I don’t know man. What happened this morning was kinda confusing, and it makes me think that Stark is actually a human being and has actual feelings and emotions and shit, and it’s like, he has no one there for him”

“He has Coulson”, Steve reminded him.

It was no secret that Tony and Coulson were friends (maybe something more if the rumors were anything to go by)

But Bucky still looked frustrated, “Like, look at us. We have Nat, Clint, Bruce, Thor. We have so many close friends we can always rely on. I don’t think he has anyone like that in school, and it sucks”

“That’s why-", Bucky broke off as he spotted Tony amidst the crowd of students, looking for a table, clutching his water bottle and what looked like a bag of some kind of food.

His eyes looked a bit puffy, but Steve couldn’t really be sure.

“Hey, Stark! Tony!”, Bucky called loudly as he walked to the aforementioned brunette.

Steve noticed how Tony flinched slightly when Bucky called his name. _Didn’t he do that when I called him?_

Steve started to recall their earlier semi-conversation, wondering if Tony flinched every time someone shouted.

_Weird._

In the background, he heard Bucky ask Tony to come sit at the Avengers’ table.

That got Steve’s attention.

He walked over to where Bucky and Tony were conversing.

_“What are you doing?!”._ He whispered fiercely in Bucky’s ear, squeezing his shoulder slightly.

Bucky shrugged him off.

“So what do you say?”, Bucky asked excitedly.

Tony just looked at the ground.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to join you for lunch today”, he muttered stiffly, “I don’t think I should intrude on your whole friend group thing”.

Steve was actually surprised at how polite Tony was being.

Wasn’t the kid supposed to be an obnoxious, loud asshole?

He deviated from that thought as a crushed look marred Bucky’s features.

Steve gave Tony a cold glare that reminded him of their earlier conversation about hurting Bucky’s feelings,

That seemed to make Tony change his mind, as his eyes went wide and he started to stutter, “On second thought, um, I would love to eat lunch with you guys! It’s the least I can do for this morning”.

Now that made Bucky _smile_.

It was like the proverbial raincloud that had gathered over his head dissipated with those words.

“Great!”, Bucky beamed, “This way!”

With that, he took hold of Tony’s wrist, leading him to the lunch table where the others were already horsing around.

This made Tony flinch again, but it was so unnoticeable, Steve wondered if he had just imagined it.

So he followed Tony and Bucky as they made their way to the Avengers’ table, kind of angry that Tony was monopolizing Bucky’s attention.

_Bucky’s my friend asshole, not yours_, he thought bitterly.

But even then, he’s the one that told Tony not to hurt Bucky, so this whole lunch thing was his fault.

Even if he didn’t like Tony, Bucky seemed to want to be his friend, so Steve had to respect that.

As they took their places at the Avengers’ table, with Tony sitting in-between Bucky and Natasha, everyone gave them incredulous looks.

Bruce smiled awkwardly, looking as confused as Thor, who stared at Tony liked he was some foreign life form that had materialized before him.

Natasha just kept her carefully blank expression.

Clint, on the other hand, was more vocal.

“So”, he began, “um, Tony, right?”

The genius nodded.

“Yeah, what’s happening right now? Cuz I’m confused as to-“, Clint yelped as Natasha gave him a smack on the arm, giving him a glare that suggested that he shouldn’t be rude.

“Well, Bucky here wanted you all to meet his new best friend, Antonio Stark”, Steve said sarcastically.

Tony was starting to look a bit uncomfortable and slightly fidgeted in his seat.

Bucky just gave him a comforting look and stepped on Steve’s foot beneath the table, which screamed _I dare you to be rude again bitch, _without him having to talk.

“I just felt like broadening my horizons today. You know, changing things up a bit”.

Steve huffed, “Yeah, horizons”

Tony finally spoke up, looking unsettled, “Look, if you want me to go, I can go, it’s not a big deal or anything”, he said softly.

_Again with the damn politeness._

Bucky’s eyes went wide “Of course not! These bozos are you used to only eating with the same people, is all”

Tony muttered a quiet ‘okay’ and took out what seemed to be some kind of pastry (Steve wasn’t sure, but he thinks he saw it at an Italian restaurant once)

Clint finally broke the awkward silence that formed after they had finished eating.

“So Tony, you’re 14 right?”

_I didn’t know that_, Steve thought as Tony nodded.

“How come? Did you start school super early or something?”, Clint pressed.

“Well, I skipped a few classes and stuff”, Tony answered modestly.

“Why?”, this time it was Bruce that asked.

Tony started to look nervous again, “My father insisted that I shouldn’t have to do anything below my capabilities, something like that”

Steve rolled his eyes (again, seriously?) “I think that’s code word for ‘My father paid my through classes’”

Tony's eyes went wide and started to water.

Shit had he said that out loud! He didn’t mean to.

The brunette frantically packed his stuff into his backpack, looking upset.

Tony released a shaky breath, “I think I’m gonna go now if that’s okay. Thanks for lunch guys, I’ll see you around I think”

“Tony wait-“ Bucky called out as Tony hurried out of the cafeteria, most likely on the verge of tears (since when was he so emotional anyway?)

As soon as Tony couldn’t be seen anymore, the rest turned around and fixed him with varying degrees of the stink eye.

“I still don’t believe that he’s actually legit?”, Steve mumbled.

Bucky didn’t look too forgiving “Why can’t you just be nice to the kid for a few seconds?! He hasn’t done anything to you, or to any of us for that matter! I don’t think any of us believe that this is some elaborate setup, so why? You can’t say that you still believe the rumors”, he spat.

“I concur”, Thor added, “Young Antonio seemed to deviate from what is rumored to be his regular behavior, correct?”

Even Clint was on Tony’s side “He seems like a really nice kid actually. I for one never really cared about the rumors, cuz this is high school, them fuckers make shit up all the time”

“Tony is actually really sweet”, great, Bruce was defending him as well, “He’s in my science classes, we talk sometimes. He’s just a bit misunderstood, you know? You shouldn’t choose what you want to see in people Steve, see them for who they actually are”

Nat didn’t even join in the Tony praise sermon, she just gave him an icy look that said _’ Tony’s a good kid. You’re an asshole, and I’ll mince you like meat if you keep being mean to him’_

Now Steve started to feel really bad. Tony didn’t seem anything like what the rumors suggested.

He should have known better.

There were rumors surrounding all his friends, himself included, yet he overlooked those because they were genuinely good people.

It sucked that he didn’t give Tony a chance to disprove all they said about him before jumping down his throat with misplaced anger.

He replayed all the conversations he’d had with and about Tony, which all antagonized him, and he started to feel even worse.

Steve was going to make an effort to make it up to Tony and maybe become friends because he owes it to the kid for being a giant asshole.

Steve was broken out of his reverie as Bucky started talking again, “Now that we’ve shown you not to judge a book by its cover, you’re gonna go apologize to Tony”

“That’s fair”, Steve compromised, “I was really out of line. I’ll apologize to him during Literature”

“You’d better”, Bucky warned “or I’ll chop your dick off”

Steve rolled his eyes at that (he definitely has an eye-rolling problem), but he was determined to make amends with Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony Protection Squad is alive.  
Poor kid, he's always been an emotional bab but doesn't have a lot ofways to release all that pent up frustration.  
Steve is gonna have to make it up to him, through the power of plot convenience, hopefully, that'll happen in the next chapter  
I also wanted to know if it's obvious that I struggle with dialogue, it's not ever been my strong suit, so any tips on dialogue will be greatly appreciated!


	5. I forgive you, but we aren't magically friends now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally apologizes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late update, I was constantly rewriting and editing chapter and changing plot points + I got lazy and just drew for a while, so yeah. 
> 
> Also, I'm updating this on my phone, so formatting might be a bit off.

Steve was lucky.

He and Tony both had AP Literature right now, so he could find a way to apologize during, before or after the 100 minutes of class. 

Steve came in early, he’d dashed off as soon as lunch was over, in order to get Tony before class. He saw no sign of the curly-haired brunette in the halls outside the class, disappointed, Steve resolved to talk to him during the class.

The Literature teacher was nothing to worry about, they were chill enough to let people converse with each other as long as they did so quietly, so Steve wasn’t going to get chewed out for talking in class, he would try that instead.

He finally spotted Tony, who entered the class with a plethora of other students as the bell rang. It was almost amazing how he stood out amongst so many people.

_ You usually don’t overlook someone as pretty as that _ .

Steve backtracked _ , where the fuck did that come from?  _

He shook his head to dispel such thoughts. Since when did he take note of people’s looks?

He then tried to make eye contact with Tony, but the brunette immediately averted his gaze, uneasy, most likely not excited at the prospect of being near Steve (why would he be?). 

He then proceeded to attempt to get Tony’s attention throughout the class, but the brunette was determined to ignore him.

It was kind of comical in a frustrating way.

Steve did everything from calling his name, to throwing paper planes and passing notes, but Tony didn’t budge.

Steve just sighed and started to take down whatever to teacher was saying, trying to pay attention, but his mind kept wandering to Tony’s crushed expression during lunch.

Guilt racked his body. 

Why did he have to be such a self-righteous asshole?

Tony wasn’t anything like the rumors suggested, he had always been nothing but nice to everyone, and if Steve remembered how to use his brain, it would’ve occurred to him that gossip wasn’t always true and not to jump to conclusions without actual investigation.

But it was weird, after basically hating Tony for the entirety of his stay at the school, he was actually going to give the kid a chance to be more than just the modern day Disney villain he was rumored to be.

(It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Bucky and Nat would gang up on him to torture him if he didn’t, not one bit.)

While Steve got even further lost in his head, he was suddenly aware of the shrill sound of the bell ringing and students around him noisily began to get up and go to their next class.

He spotted Tony packing his books into his backpack, not looking to be in much of a rush.

_ Time to shoot my shot, _ Steve thought grimly.

By the time Steve had pushed past the others students to get to Tony’s seat, the brunette was already out the door.

Steve burst into the halls and began to look around frantically.

People were giving him weird looks, but he chose to ignore them, he had to find Tony.

He ended up searching the halls for 6 minutes. Still no sign of the brunette.

Steve swallowed a frustrated sigh.

It’s not like he didn’t expect Tony to avoid him, who would want to hold a conversation with someone that essentially bullied you for a year?

Steve found himself grimacing at the use of the word bully. Whatever mean things he had said and done to Tony would most likely be classified as bullying by anyone without a bias to either of them.

_ It’s funny how I became the very thing I hate the most. _

He mentally kicked himself as he climbed up the stairwell to the History class, which he was already late for.

Steve supposed he deserved a tardy slip, it would be a small part of the retribution he would eventually pay for his treatment of Tony, so he’ll go with it.

As soon as he entered the History classroom, the teacher, Mr. Johann Schimdt, abruptly stopped whatever he was dictating to the class and robotically handed Steve a tardy slip when Steve approached his desk. 

Steve just let his expression become even more sullen as he envisioned the detention he was going to have to sit through, very cool.

Sighing to himself for the umpteenth time, Steve took his seat at the middle of the class.

He vaguely registered his friend Sharon turning back and giving him a small wave, and returned it half-heartedly, not really in the mood to socialize.

He managed to catch a glimpse of Tony’s messy chestnut curls and red hoodie at the front of the class, hunched over, scribbling something frantically, and Steve reminded himself with renewed determination that he was going to right his wrongs, apologize to Tony and maybe start to be on good terms with him.

It was clear that Bucky and the others were fond of the kid, albeit from afar, so it might do more good than harm to have Tony as one of his friends, at least the others wouldn’t want to beat him up anymore.

It’s a win-win situation, basically, since Bucky was so bent on taking Tony under his wing.

It was going to be impossible to talk to Tony during the class, especially since Mr. Schimdt liked to give pink slips to anyone who so much as coughed in his class. Steve was going to have to wait till after-school, and that didn’t even guarantee that Tony would even be there.

The situation just keeps getting better.

Mr. Schimdt must’ve noticed that Steve wasn’t paying attention, because suddenly, a large shadow hovered above his desk. Steve looked up and squinted at the figure, still quite lost in thought.

“Mr. Rogers”, the entity that had suddenly morphed into their middle-aged History teacher hissed, “Would you like to give me an explanation as to why you’re finding your desk more interesting than the lesson?”

Steve was way too drained to deal with this bullshit. “Not really”, he mumbled noncommittally. Mr. Schimdt suddenly mustered a huge grin, Steve couldn’t help thinking that he had fallen into a trap. 

At the back of his mind, he acknowledged that the whole class was watching them silently, waiting to see what was going to happen. Mr. Schimdt was notorious for being a literal tyrant, some even called him a Nazi, which was not helped by his heavy German accent. He’d also always had it out for Steve after Steve had argued against his lesson on the benefits and greatness of National Socialism and Nazism (credit to Kamechan98 and their highschool au, we stan). 

That was beside the point, shit was about to go down. 

“Since you decided that paying attention to my class isn’t as important as your teenager problems, you can be paired up with Mr. Stark for the group project I was just explaining”. He gave a victorious smile at the prospect of Steve working with someone he apparently hated.

But Steve perked up, instantly ecstatic.

“Really?”. Mr. Schimdt looked a bit taken aback, but he agreed “Really”. Steve suppressed a huge smile at that, so that Mr. Schimdt wouldn’t catch on to the fact that he wanted Tony as his partner. “I’m sorry sir. I’ll start paying attention, now”.

“Good”, Mr. Schimdt scraped out, probably not feeling as good now that he knew Steve would be comfortable working with Tony, contrary to earlier beliefs.

(Steve was faintly aware that Tony had watched the whole exchange, his faced scrunched up in disbelief at the prospect of working with mean old Steve)

“Anyways class, back to what I was saying”, he continued as though nothing had happened.

By now the class had resumed their attention, thoroughly unimpressed with the outcome of the altercation.

“You and your partner, who I will chose for you”, he added as the class groaned disappointedly, “You and your partner are to make a project on any historical war which paved the way for development of any country. The war must be relevant to the country and have a significant effect on its progression. The project can be in form of an essay, presentation or an artistic piece. It is due at the end of the month, which is in 3 weeks for those of you incapable of telling time and it constitutes 20% of your grade this semester, so no playing around with it”.

He looked around at the class, who were shocked into silence at the sheer magnitude of the project. “Any questions”, he smiled.

  


The bell for the end of school finally rang.

Steve was just happy that the hellish History class was finally over. 

_ That’s what you get for being promoted to AP History _ , a voice that sounded suspiciously like Bucky whispered at the back of his mind. 

Whatever, there were more pressing matters now. 

He had situated himself at Tony’s locker in order to catch him before he went home.

Steve went over his apology in his head about a thousand times _ . You can do this. Tony’s a reasonable guy, I think. He’ll hear you out, maybe-. _ He temporarily stopped his mental pep-talk as he saw the elusive brunette heading towards his locker, probably not noticing Steve because he was glued to his phone, tapping frantically (was that Pokémon music?).

As soon as Tony reached his destination, Steve turned to him. “Tony! Hi!”, he basically shouted.

Steve mentally cursed himself for his desperate sounding tone, embarrassed.

Tony didn’t fare any better.

The brunette flinched and at the same time jumped what seemed like five feet into the air, nearly dropping his phone in the process, then turned around and exhaled shakily, clutching his chest.

“Jesus Christ!” he wheezed as he shook his curls, “I thought people in this school knew that I have a heart condition, thus they shouldn’t sneak up on me!” With that, Tony’s eyes widened, probably realizing his outburst, and he shrunk into himself slightly, casting his gaze to his sneakers. 

_ Oh, I did  _ ** _not_ ** _ know that _ .  _ Big oof _ .

“I am  _ so _ sorry for startling you. It’s just that- I want to talk to you, if that’s okay”. 

Tony looked up at that, narrowed his eyes and dropped his gaze almost immediately, then started to transfer books from his locker distractedly. “I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. I reckon you don’t like me much?” 

Steve wanted to beat his past-self up for being so mean to the brunette. 

“It’s not that- well, it was that, before- wait, no!- I just-“, Steve took a deep breath, “I want to apologize to you”

Tony turned to him again, confusion glittering in his amber eyes, but Steve continued, “I-I’ve never hated you Tony but I felt inclined to do so”, Steve ended up confessing, the brunette made a small sound of discomfort, but didn’t interrupt further.

“It’s just- I heard all the rumors and gossip and shit and thought you were some asshole bully, but I should’ve actually tried to get to know you or even investigate before jumping into all sorts of conclusions. You don’t seem to be anything like that and I wanted to say sorry”

Steve looked down at his feet. 

”Sorry for being so unjustifiably terrible to you. I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope you find a place in your heart to forgive me”

For a moment, a moment that felt like an eternity to Steve, there was silence.

Steve couldn’t hear his heart thudding spastically in his chest, racing with anticipation. 

Tony looked simply at a loss for words, so he turned and stuffed the rest of his books into his backpack, pocketed his phone and took a deep breath before he finally broke the tense silence. 

“It’s okay Steve, I forgive you” Tony mumbled softly, his expression a bit more relaxed. 

Steve dragged his gaze to meet Tony’s, as confused as the brunette was when the whole debacle started. 

“Really? Why?”, he pressed, needing it to be true, to be legitimate.

“Yeah. You at least recognized that I’m a human being with emotions and even gave an honest apology, which is more than most people would do, so yes, I forgive you Steve”

Steve felt like the Mjolnir had been lifted off his chest, he let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. “Awesome”. 

Tony gave him an honest to goodness little smile, that seemed to illuminate the hallway, “Yeah, it is”.

Steve sucked in a breath, awestruck by how  _ beautiful _ Tony looked when he smiled. He felt strangely warm and tingly inside, knowing that smile was directed at him. It made him feel happy.

Steve was shaken out of his reverie by the sound of Tony’s voice saying something akin to “See you around”, before he turned around and walked away. Steve shouted a hasty “Goodbye!” at the brunette’s retreating form, smiling to himself. 

_ Mission accomplished. _

Now to find Bucky and tell him that he actually ended up apologizing, before the brunette took matters into his own hands and did something both of them would regret.

Steve, humming victoriously, made his way out of the school.

Then he remembered that he had detention.

_ Fucking peachy _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Steve into a canister of guilt in this lol, he kind of stewed on the whole thing and realized that he was an asshole, so points for rectifying his mistakes.  
Tony is just really tired and done with life at this point, so he forgave Steve bc he kinda didn't really care about how Steve treated him in the past. What an mvp


	6. The Dawn of a New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has reflected a lot on his life, especially this bizarre day.   
He's gonna try to give whatever this is a chance, for better, or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for child abuse
> 
> reeee sorry for my die.  
I've been extremely lazy and unmotivated to do much of anything these days, so this was kinda left to rot.  
This is going to be the final chapter of Cookie Cutter!, which is an introduction to the series I plan to make on this idea. The next story arc will be much longer and have better writing, and more flow, since I've mostly thought it out.  
Sorry for the long wait, and the potentially lackluster quality of this ending, but nevertheless, enjoy.

Tony partially heard Steve’s shocked goodbye as he left the school premises.

The whole debacle was strange and unexpected. It’s not like Steve had ever been _nice_ to him before, so why start now. 

He thought back to his previous interactions with the blonde; which was either Steve saying mean things to him (albeit extremely rarely), saying mean things about him while he was still in earshot (most likely didn’t notice he was there, this is more frequent), calling him an attention-seeking asshole on numerous occasions, including today, so why the sudden change of heart?

Tony suspected it was an elaborate trick orchestrated to learn things about him and use them to humiliate him.

It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. When Brock Rumlow had tried to befriend him at the start of the last semester but ended up using him for monetary favors (not that Tony actually did any him) and manipulating him to make him do things he didn’t want to. 

When Tony finally broke off that toxic ‘friendship’, even with all the heartbreak he had felt at losing his only friend at the time, he was quite relieved to be out of that abusive cycle. Everything was fine for a while until Rumlow went around saying that Tony paid him money for sexual favors, was an arrogant rich fuckstick, and ‘confirmed’ the other rumors, thus further tarnishing his already soiled reputation. 

Rumlow was, in fact, notorious for lying and making up horrible things about others for attention, so most of the student body didn’t believe him, but that didn’t stop them from using the fabrications as another point to add to the rumors already circulating around him. Still bullying him about it.

High schoolers are the best, right?

That was beside the point, Steve was an enigma.

He could be so nice to others but mean to those he perceived as ‘bad’, even with the littlest shred of information that couldn’t be called credible.

_But that doesn’t really make sense._

Steve, as self-righteous as he may be, doesn’t seem like the type of person to anything malicious purposely or without good reason too. 

_So many people in school respect and look up to him, he has a lot of friends, therefore he’s a good person?_

Tony didn’t really believe in that reasoning.

Even though the blonde’s apology seemed sincere, and he acted like he wanted to start over, Tony decided to hold on to his suspicions.

Numerous people had taken advantage of his forgiving and gullible nature to further hurt and degrade him. Tony was just tired of all that.

_I’m not falling for that shit ever again, _he thought decisively.

His internal monologue ground to a halt and he made his way home on his bike, determined not to think about Steve anymore.

Tony relished the cool breeze, softly humming to himself as the sounds of nature surrounded him and leaves fell around him. It was already November and the temperature was steadily dropping. Tony decided to seize the moment and enjoy the peaceful environment before he got home.

After 20 minutes of pedaling around the town, the brunette finally reached the Stark Mansion, leaves crunching under his feet as he made his way to the front door.

He carefully stowed his bike on the rack that he had installed for it, then turned to the sturdy acacia doors nervously. With shaking hands, he fumbled for his keys, and unlocked the door, steeling himself for the ever-present tension surrounding the implications.

The brunette looked around the spacious living room warily, trying to confirm that there was no imminent danger (i.e Howard) in the area, then calmed down a bit as he sighted their butler, Jarvis, approaching him from the kitchen area.

“Good evening Master Anthony”, he gave as a response to Tony’s “Hi Jarvis!”, murmured softly from across the room.

“How was your day at school Master Anthony?”

Tony shrugged.

“It was alright mostly”

_If alright can be used to describe a breakdown, a panic attack and strange kids trying to befriend me, then hey-ho let’s go, I’m alright._

“That’s good” Jarvis’ expression turned sympathetic as he huffed out a small breath, his gentle features wrinkling.

Tony knew that whatever was coming next couldn’t be good.

“I regret to inform you that your father is home at the moment and requested to see you as you soon as came back from school”, Jarvis paused for a moment, “And he is currently…intoxicated“

Tony’s blood turned to ice in his veins. Howard wanting anything to do with him was a bad, _bad_ sign, especially since he was drunk.

He was grateful that all his father did was ignore him for the most part, but when he was angry or drunk, Tony could be sure that he wouldn’t get to his room unscathed.

The brunette nodded silently as Jarvis gave his not-bruised shoulder a small squeeze, a small gesture that meant a lot to Tony right now. Tony just pursed his lips and climbed up the stairs to his father’s office, knuckles clutching tightly on the straps of his backpack.

As expected, the entire office reeked of scotch and cigarettes, the acrid tang making Tony wince, bottles were strewn around haphazardly, too many for Tony to try to count but enough to probably constitute alcohol poisoning.

At the crux of the mess was Howard Stark, absolutely_ hammered_, still sipping alcohol out of a bottle that looked like it was about to be dropped to the floor due to his unsteady grip.

Howard beckoned him forward with it, the scotch spilling over its edges and unto the wooden floor. Tony shuffled meekly until he was in front of his father, eyes wide, angled towards the floor and his body stiff.

“Come closer boy. Let me see you. Stop acting nervous in front of your dear old Dad”. Tony moved closer ever so slightly.

His father was all slurred muttering and clumsy movements, hunched over his desk as if trading information with it

“That’s better. Now, do you know why I called you in here?”

Tony shook his head. Howard simply gave him a hard smack on his shoulder, making him flinch away with a yelp.

“How many times do I have to tell you to speak when I ask you a question!”, Howard yelled viciously, “You’re not retarded or anything, so speak up! Do you understand?!”

“Yes sir”

“Good. Sometimes I swear that you act slow”. That seemed to have calmed Howard down a bit as he relaxed slightly in his chair, taking a swig out of his bottle, the faraway look in his eyes giving Tony a little hope that he was too intoxicated to remember what he had intended to say and would promptly pass out.

“Right”

Short-lived dream.

“Now anyway, I called you here to tell you that I’m going on a business trip to Japan tomorrow. For about 9 weeks, give or take, with your mother most likely, you know how much she likes Japan”

Tony perked up at that.

Even though Howard’s slurred speech was almost unintelligible, but the brunette managed to decipher that his parents were leaving on a business trip. Now the heavy drinking made sense. Howard always got hammered before a business trip.

But Tony focused on the good that came out of this. Two months of a Howard-free environment. If this wasn’t a miracle, then let the wine turn back into water.

He might miss his mother a bit, but the pros outweighed the cons.

Tony must’ve gotten too immersed in his thoughts, but he didn’t notice his father still talking until Howard frowned then lurched forward suddenly, grabbing Tony’s wrist and squeezing _hard_.

“Why can’t you even do simple things like pay attention when I’m speaking to you? You’re not deaf, so why can’t you? God, its like speaking to a piece of fucking cardboard with you”

Tony bit down on his lip, trying his hardest to conceal the pain that lanced through his arm at that moment.

Howard must’ve noticed him tearing up because he gripped his wrist impossibly harder, eliciting a muffles sob from Tony. Howard then released his arm and shoved him towards the office door.

“Get out. Just get out. I’m tired of seeing you crying like a baby all the time”

Tony dashed out of the office as soon as he heard those words, clutching his rapidly-bruising wrist as tears ran down his face.

He faintly heard his mother’s piano in one of the other rooms, playing a soft melody. Sometimes he wondered if she even cared about him.

Tony finally reached his room and slammed the door shut behind him, sliding down to the floor. He didn’t know why he always cried when this happened. Howard’s hurtful words and equally hurtful beatings took place on the regular, so why wasn’t he used to it know?

“Boss, are you okay?” FRIDAY chirped from above him, the AI’s tone somehow sympathetic. “Would you like me to play some soothing jazz music?”

Tony chuckled at that, despite himself. FRIDAY was still a work-in-progress, and somehow formed the idea that soothing jazz music was a remedy to everything.

“No FRIDAY, its okay. Just pull up the rest of the schematic’s for DUM-E’s interface, and let’s see what we can do”

The AI gave a small huff, like she wanted to argue but ultimately decided not to.

“Alright boss”

FRIDAY projected the blueprints he needed to complete his current project, and he spun himself to his workstation, ready to invent. He needed this desperately, to try and take his mind off the literal clusterfuck that was today. It was like everything and nothing happened.

He came to school injured and fed up with life, he’d had a public meltdown, he’d become acquainted with some strange new people, his father was going away for a while, and Steve.

Steve had a History project with him.

It had totally escaped Tony’s mind.

Tony just shrugged it off. “I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow”, he muttered to himself.

For some reason, he was the slightest bit anxious about meeting up with Steve.

_Whatever, tomorrow is a new day, and I’m ready for it_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it.  
First arc all wrapped up, character development and new possibilities on the horizon.  
I hope y'all stay for the next one, cus its gonna be a doozy.  
Also, I scrapped the whole Coulson-Tony childhood friend thing, because it was kinda unnecessary and left a lot of plot inconsistencies for the next arc.  
So, yeah. New Year, New Starbacchu, New Stony content.


End file.
